While a majority of people around the world would love to be the promoter of change, very few would have chosen to do so by being hospitalized for being beaten by police officers. Unfortunately, Rodney King didn’t have that choice. On March 3, 1991, Rodney became a symbol of police brutality and began a fight for change after being taped and brutally beaten by police officers.
His life from then on would not remain the same as it was – moments before the incident, when he was just another taxi driver in the City of Angels. Who was Rodney King? This and other important details about his life are discussed below.
Who was Rodney King?
When Ronald and Odessa King welcomed their baby boy on April 2, 1965, neither parent thought their child would one day become the symbol of police brutality in the country. Of course, even Rodney didn’t know that. A man who had a difficult childhood himself after losing his father to alcoholism, Rodney was convicted after being found guilty of theft from a convenience store.
After his release, King took the taxi. Returning home from a night spent watching basketball and drinking at a friend’s house, King, along with his friends, in the early hours of March 3, 1991, were arrested on the Foothill Highway. Caught speeding by the California Highway Patrol, the friends were prosecuted after King refused to stop due to the implication of driving under the influence of alcohol on his parole.
The chase lasted 13 km and involved several other police officers and a helicopter. After King was arrested, he got into a fight with police officers that ended up in the brutal beatings.
George Holliday turned out to be the man to ignite the fire of a racial protest. A recording of the incident showed Rodney being hit twice by LA police, after which he was hit with batons by multiple officers. Recording of the incident ended on KTLA television and sparked a riot that lasted 6 days and it took the National Guard, Army and Marine Corps of the United States to quell the protests and restore peace.
King’s Hospital assessment showed he had a facial fracture, a fractured right ankle and multiple bruises. Although the officers who committed the grave atrocities were never prosecuted for any wrongdoing in the state of Los Angeles, leading to the infamous Los Angeles Riots in 1992, King filed a lawsuit against the city and won a $3.8 million settlement.
After the protest died down, King became a voice against police brutality and an activist. Using his colony’s money, he started a record company with the intention of populating it with minority employees, but the venture failed.
King tried to live his life and put the incident behind him despite making him an unwitting celebrity. After a few failed marriages, he met Cynthia Kelly and the two agreed to marry in 2012. Unfortunately, King suffered from the same disease as his father, alcoholism.
He was arrested several times for driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding. In 2008, he checked himself into a rehab center, hoping to sort out his addiction. In 2012, before his death, King published a memoir he titled The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption
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Its history and particularly the 1991 incident have been the subject of various works of art. It has been made into a film several times and documentaries have been made telling the story.
King is known to have called for an end to the riot while on his hospital bed with the famous words – “can’t we all get along”; his daughter, Lord King, established a foundation in service of these words, working to bridge the gap between the police and members of the African-American community.
Death – How did he die?
Rodney was found dead in his swimming pool on June 17, 2012. After an autopsy was performed on his body, it was discovered that he died from accidental drowning due to a combination of several drugs in his system. He was found dead by his fiancé, Cynthia Kelly.
Other Facts You Didn’t Know
- Rodney King died exactly 28 years after his father’s death. Both men died in a pool of water due to alcohol abuse.
- Although the officers who beat Rodney were never convicted at a state trial, they were found guilty of excessive force federally and both were sentenced to 30 months in prison.
- The 1991 riot caused over 7,000 fires, 63 deaths and 2,383 injuries. The riot spread to other cities like San Francisco, Las Vegas and Seattle. A minor riot also occurred in Toronto, Canada.